By Ellen Eisenberg

By Ellen Eisenberg, Executive Director of The Pennsylvania Institute for Instructional Coaching (PIIC)

Friday, December 20, 2013

At the end of each month, I look back at what I accomplished
and either hang my head or give myself a “high five” (more the former than
latter). I tend to make long “to do” lists that sound very doable at the time
of creation. I then reflect and say to myself, “What was I thinking??” When I
review my lists, I notice that my original list has multiplied into about 10 additional
lists, each subsequent list becoming more and more detailed about what I want
to accomplish. This reflection is perfect for December as we think about the
inevitable… what’s this year’s New Year’s resolution and how will I sustain the
momentum as I move forward personally and professionally?

Looking back, I want to remind myself what I’ve learned
about teaching, learning, and coaching… teacher quality is the most significant
factor affecting student achievement; teachers who are supported by
instructional coaches are more likely to implement newly learned instructional
strategies; follow up support to effectively implement new learning and
scaffolding encourages reflective practice and instruction; teachers want to
talk to their colleagues about effective instructional strategies;
collaboration and open communication make a difference in teaching and
learning; teachers and coaches who collectively problem solve around problems
of practice are more likely to identify effective strategies that work to
address those issues; and most importantly, teachers really like to talk to
other practitioners who are non-evaluative listeners with a shared vision about
how to help their students grow while improving their own instructional practices.

As I move forward in my practice, I am also reminded about
the daily questions coaches, mentors, and administrators must ask themselves:
what am I doing as a coach, mentor, or administrator to help teachers change
and improve their practice, and what am I doing to help teachers improve student
engagement and outcomes? I ask myself the same questions about helping others
improve their coaching practices. How can I help coaches and mentors work
one-on-one and in small groups to support teachers, coaches, and other school leaders?
Providing ongoing opportunities to engage in professional learning and to share
new learning with others is fundamental to my own learning.

Janus, the two-faced (in a good way) ancient Roman god of
beginnings and transitions, looks to the future and to the past. He looks after
passages, causes actions to start and presides over all beginnings. I think the
role of the coach mirrors Janus’ role. Coaches certainly disrupt the status quo and foster conversation. Remember your journey and the goals you
have set out to accomplish. Celebrate the small accomplishments and remember
that Rome was not built in a day…look behind you to see how far you have come
and look ahead to see what innovations are possible. This is a journey of change
and it takes courage, tenacity, diligence, frustration, and acceptance to stay
the course.

Best wishes for a wonderful holiday season. Rest, relax, and
rejuvenate your body and soul. All good things in the New Year!

Monday, December 9, 2013

Susan Scott (Fierce Inc. and contributing columnist to Learning Forward) says that “honest
conversations are the cornerstone to building a culture of excellence” (JSD,
December 2013). She believes that the most powerful practice to transform
schools comes from ongoing conversations, the dialogue that either makes or
breaks what happens in schools.

As an instructional coach, honest and open communication and
ongoing conversations are what makes the difference between heavy and light
coaching. Of course, a coach is a resource provider and often provides
articles, templates, reports, and other useful items to teachers who do not
have the time to peruse google or other search engines to find the latest in research
or current trends to inform practice. This, however, is not coaching if there
is no follow up about using those resources. The issue is not only about which
resources to use; it’s about how to transform the written word into action and
then discuss how that action influences learning.

“Shoulder-to-shoulder” support makes a difference when there
is conversation about the practice. That’s one of the shortcomings of consultant
driven support that occurs at the introduction of the resource and not again
until the resource has been used for a period of time. I don’t think it’s a very
effective model to provide all the bells and whistles of wonderful resources
with no one onsite to help plan how to use the resources, or to work together
at the time the resources are used, or to reflect after they are used to
determine how useful the resources were to help the teachers reach a specific
learning goal with their students. In fact, offering this kind of support without training or
sustained conversation is what Dennis Sparks calls, “educational malpractice.”
(That’s why so many beautiful PowerPoint slide presentations stay hidden and
unused; without talking about the context, the materials are useless.)

Talking about one’s practice makes a difference. It’s like
the dress rehearsal before the grand opening. It makes such good sense for
teachers to talk to each other about what they want to teach, how they want to
teach “it,” how they will know if the desired outcomes are reached, and what to
do in the event that the instructional goals are not met. These kinds of
conversations must occur in deliberate and intentional ways. That being said, I
think the conversations can occur through a blended approach… they must be
face-to-face and may have an electronic component as well, e.g., virtual or
written conversations. I am not convinced that the conversations can be
effective via electronic communication alone although I do recognize the
constraints of time and location.

If we want to make a difference in the way students learn
and help them become lifelong learners, we need to ensure that every student is
taught by a highly qualified teacher. That’s not just through a teacher earning
a degree from a college or university. It’s through offering the teacher the
ongoing support needed to ensure that every student benefits when teachers talk
to each other, learn together, and regularly engage in collaborative practices.
We need to offer teachers the opportunities to nourish their own professional
growth through talking with other practitioners, seeing how they practice, and
collectively problem solving about things that impact student growth.

It sounds like such a common sense approach to encourage
teachers to talk to one another about effective instructional practices and how
to help each other reach their full potential so they can help their students
reach their fullest potential. But, then again, common sense is not so common,
is it?